KATHMANDU, MAY 4
Though the constitution of Nepal has declared that no child shall be subjected to child marriage and the penal code has prohibited child marriage, it has been found that 37 per cent of Nepali girls get married before their legal age.
The legal age of marriage is 20 for both men and women in Nepal. However, it has been found that 37 per cent of Nepali girls get married before the age of 18. According to Article 39 of the constitution, fundamental rights of a child stipulates that 'no child shall be subjected to child marriage.' But according to the reports of the Human Rights Watch and World Vision International Nepal, 37 per cent of girls in Nepal marry before the age of 18 and 10 percent are married by the age of 15, in spite of the fact that the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20 years of age. World Vision International Nepal has also reported that Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia after Bangladesh. Though Nepal outlawed child marriage in 1963, it is still an alarming social problem facing the country.
Likewise, Section 173 of the National Penal Code (2017) stipulates that 'no marriage shall be concluded or cause to be concluded unless parties to the marriage have attained 20 years of age.' It also states that 'a person who commits the offence related to child marriage shall be liable to a sentence of imprisonment for a term of three years and a fine of Rs 30,000.' All the available laws related to child marriage in the country has taken child marriage as a violation of children's rights and human rights. However, it prevails widely in various regions of Nepal.
According to Sunil Hakaju Shrestha, Technical Head for Protection at World Vision International Nepal, upon interviewing dozens of children and young people, it was revealed that these marriages resulted from a web of factors, including poverty, religious and cultural norms, illiteracy, lack of awareness, child labour, social pressures, harmful practices, and weak implementation of laws and policies. He said, "Most of the marriages are results of entrenched gender inequality and damaging social norms that make girls less valued than boys in Nepali society."
"At present, the trend of love marriage has also contributed to the rise in incidents of child marriage. But the disappointing result is that they are not able to register their marriage due to legal lacuna, which basically leads to the tremendous problems in separation and divorce after a certain time," he said, adding, "It has also increased the tendency of domestic violence, as girls who marry as children are more likely to become victims of domestic violence compared to women who marry later in their lives." In 2016, the government of Nepal endorsed national strategy to end child marriage and committed to end child marriage by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Earlier, Vice-president of Policy and Planning Commission Madhes Province, Nathu Prasad Chaudhary said Nepal ranks third in Asia in terms of child marriage. He stressed the need to raise awareness to abolish the malpractice. "Out of seven provinces, Madhes and Karnali have the highest incidents of child marriage," he said. In a bid to eradicate child marriage, the Madhes Province government has introduced various programmes such as 'Beti Padhau Beti Bachau,' programmes.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 5, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
